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Session 5 - Iron Soldiers and the Druids
The morning after the heroes returned to Bridgton, they received a terse and cryptic message from tiefling sorcerer Vanderjesus explaining that she has a lead on the teal stone, and urging her friends to go on without her, and that she'll catch up with them. The heroes set out on the Lowland High Road through the Tyrehenna Hills. As they traveled a heavy rain began and didn't let up for most of their journey through the hills. About a week into their travels, after setting up camp, the human druid Fairy Dragon heard singing coming from a little deeper in the woods, high and beautiful with other singers joining in with harmonies. The companions woke and Sylvan elven rogue Mindratis could tell that the singing was elven songs, about as close to drunken tavern songs as elven culture could get. He crept close and found some High elven revellers drinking and singing, and he crashed their party, joining in, though slightly off key. They welcomed him, but were slightly terrified when half-orc fighter Phryne and her enamoured human cleric Edlee soon followed. Half-air spirit monk Aubrey stayed behind at camp with Fairy Dragon and the heroes' mule, Eeyore. Phryne woke up with another hangover, this time joined by Mindratis. The heroes continued along, dispatching a band of goblins along the High Road. After weeks of travelling, as the heavy rains in the region let up, they eventually found the road ended at the narrow spot of a swollen river. The bridge had been swept out by the flooding, so Mindratis shot an arrow across the river, and Fairy Dragon transformed into a fish and swam across to tie the rope, and the heroes created a rope bridge to help them cross. Aubrey dashed across the rope without any issue, while Mindratis' valiant effort to follow almost sent him into the rushing waters, though he was able to cling to the rope and get across. Phryne, a natural athlete, simply swam across, while Edlee cautiously shimmied his way across the rope bridge. This left Eeyore stranded on the other side, but Aubrey tapped into an air spirit power that made the mule levitate in the air, and brought the animal floating across the waters. The party found themselves at a place called Merriglen's Mill, a compound founded around a wind powered sawmill, an inn, and a small chapel to the New Church of Apexion, recently bolstered with a regiment of New Church soldiers. They met Merriglen, the founder of the mill and a New Church devotee. He explained that shortly after they had built the mill and began to clear cut sections of the forest around it, the foresters were picked off or injured by strange animal and human attacks. The New Church regiment was requested from Port-of-Utopia, and the soldiers discovered the attackers to be a marauding band of druids, worshippers of the heathen god Oakheart. There have been many deaths on both sides, and they are currently at a standstill, as Merriglen is unwilling to sacrifice more men. As the heroes consulted, Aubrey chatted with the inkeeper, the flirtatious Jawn, who explained that the New Church worshippers built the mill compound around the inn. He invited them to worship at a small shrine to the Pentacle gods he and his partner, Yevin, kept in their private quarters, secret as the New Church worshippers frown on worship of the Pentacle gods. The heroes were generally uncomfortable with the thought of wiping out a community of druids, but promised Merriglen they'd look into the matter. Aubrey, Edlee and Phryne took advantage of the relative luxury of the inn after such a long journey, while Fairy Dragon and Mindratis, feeling uncomfortable about staying in such close quarters to the New Church worshippers, opted to camp outside the compound. They were visited by a strange, large-eared fox who seemed startled and fled when Fairy Dragon greeted it in Druidic. The next morning, the heroes met and began to investigate, looking to track the druids. After searching an area where the last attack happened, Mindratis and Aubrey spotted the same fox, and it fled, though this time Aubrey and Fairy Dragon, taking a similar fox form, gave chase. After crashing through the underbrush after the fox, a large brown bear spotted them and gave chase. The fox, pursued through the woods, finally stopped and turned on the heroes, transforming into a wolf. Fairy Dragon was downed by a vicious attack by the bear, but Aubrey was able to beat back the wolf, who transformed into a human druid wearing a bark fox mask. While he turned his skin to bark, Aubrey was able to knock the druid out, and joined by his friends the heroes were able to revive Fairy Dragon and defeat the bear. Mercifully, the heroes tied up the young druid and trapped the bear in a net, though they revived the dying creature, and Fairy Dragon was able to calm it. When the druid regained consciousness, exhausted, beaten and desperate, he explained that he was the last of the druids from his tribe, that the "Iron Soldiers" had killed the rest, including his mother and sisters, and that only he and the Wise Woman of the tribe were left to protect his people. The heroes promised the young druid they meant him no harm, and that they wanted to help resolve the conflict somehow. He introduced himself as Fennec, and promised he'd bring them to his tribe at Bone Ridge to meet the Wise Woman. ACTIVE QUESTS -Investigate the encroaching dark forces from the East for the forest spirit (party thinks teal stone, these goblin factories and Gazek from Gobelton have something to do with it) -Escort Edlee to Elysium -Follow the young druid Fennec to investigate the druid tribal village to find a solution to the fighting between the druids and Merriglen's Mill